The Last Legendary System

After a few seconds of silence, Benign turned to the elf who was writing down notes. He frowned. "Vergil, when it happened, did none of the current realms notice?"

There was no way they were so closed off from each other that they wouldn’t notice an entire realm going missing?

Not just one. Numerous realms and their civilisations.

’If it is like that, then their squabbles had stayed too long to just be a disagreement. These glitches only intensified the hostility.’

From a military standpoint, Benign couldn’t miss the benefits. Learning about opposing countries’ problems has been a way countries of his world found leverage.

Planting a spy was difficult either.

"We are separated by a space wall." Vergil started with his arms crossed. "To visit another realm would require a high amount of mana and isn’t worth it."

His reply deepened Benign’s frown. Vergil looked away, flipping through the memory pages of his book.

In the book, Lost in Cicada Kingdom, Ashold found portals that led to the other realms. They became less known because no one used them.

Mode of transportation was never the problem.

"Didn’t we find out that our realm glitched?" Stun chipped in, as he sensed Vergil wasn’t in a tight spot.

The scholarly elf snapped his fingers.

"Yes! Another discovery that confirmed the glitches was Noria itself. Other surviving realms noticed their realms had different climates afterward. You see, like how we elves are situated in a desert."

’That makes sense. I didn’t think of that.’ Benign straightened his expression. "Is there proof to that either?"

"There is." Vergil’s tone lowered. "In history books, Norians were depicted as winged elves— fairies. When our realm glitched to a hostile space unsuitable for flying, their wings evolved out."

’The two-winged sisterhood.’ Benign remembered the chief’s advice. The name must’ve paid respect to the ancestors.

He sighed. Every hand pointed to the real possibility of entire realms glitching out of existence or into another environment.

The world was in disarray.

"If you and ’the other two’ realms were at peace, you’d have intelligent minds work together to study the effects of the glitches. Now, you all work alone and solve nothing."

Vergil opened his mouth, right about to spew prejudice. He closed it quietly and nodded.

"Noria never started the wars." Stun spoke again.

He had taken a position by the entrance of the cave, watching the night sky. "Oliens did. Those ones eat, sleep, and wage war. Intelligent minds will be difficult to find there."

"I disagree. War doesn’t always mean foolishness. It could mean desperation." Benign would know.

His higher-ups always had the perfect blend of both. "Intelligence could exist there." He had the least knowledge about that realm compared to the other two.

While Noria was a kingdom of hostile elves, their hostility was a protection. He had met the civil part of them.

Karnak, from Ashold’s brief adventure, was filled with werecreatures governed by the werewolves. They had a sense of pack coordination and fierce loyalty.

Olien was simply an evil scientist’s wet dream.

Despite that, reality might be different. His eyes drifted to the revolver on his bag. Oliens had the intelligence to create the weapons that had kept him alive so far.

If they channeled their brains and resources well, the results could surpass the other realms’ discoveries.

"Are there more of these caves you said you found? Perhaps some of these lost ancient civilizations might give us a clue." Benign obliged.

The reward for this mission was an ancient artifact, and within ancient caves were the reasonable places for the reward to be. If he reached the destination, it could flag the end of his mission and get him the reward.

"We will set out by sunrise." Vergil turned to Stun to confirm. The elf nodded at him. "You should rest."

Benign lowered himself to the ground without question. Keeping his back straight had been painful.

"Oh, and my condolences for your regretful evolution. It must’ve been hard. After wings evolved out in the new environment, your people had to create your own habitat."

If they never had magic, their chances of survival would’ve been far lower.

"Wings kept cracking, shattering. Fairies walked about wingless, feeling naked. One day, a child is born wingless." Vergil shook his head, as if he had witnessed the event. "That marked the beginning of elves."

Benign stared at his back before giving an encouraging nod. That was a simplistic difference between an elf and a fairy. The fantasy writers in his world would be awed.

"We would find something useful in those caves. Don’t worry. We might be able to set your realm back as well."

Back on earth, cave drawings had done a good deal to improve civilization to what it became, so Benign hoped for a similar insight.

"Ah, don’t think too far." Vergil waved a hand. "Only Heroes like Ashold could bring back a realm and might’ve been able to return another to its previous home. It was never done by the other Protectors."

"Right." Benign said. "We are just simple people. But I will do my best."

.

.

The morning sun drained their water and food within four hours. Benign blamed himself for forgetting a rather simple thing. The sun burned hotter as the day wore on.

The trio wandered far, from the cave that had offered refuge for a night, into the harsh winds of what Benign considered worse than the Gobi desert. Everywhere looked the same that he wondered if they were circling the same place.

The sun never moved, and their trail marks disappeared after a while. His sense of direction failed him in this place. He glanced at the elves occasionally to make sure they weren’t fallen.

When Benign finally convinced himself that the dunes ahead were different from the ones behind him and that he was truly moving forward instead of walking in circles, Vergil’s steel rod began to glow.

It had remained strapped to the scholar’s back throughout the journey like a decorative ornament. The sudden glow made him stiffen in alarm. They stopped walking and came around him.

Vergil dropped everything he held and stepped away from the rest of them with a panicked expression on his face.

"What does that mean?" Benign asked, his eyes darting about to identify any incoming danger. His heart dropped as a thought crossed his mind. "Vergil, are you about to glitch? Is that it?"

"No, no, instead a glitch is coming towards us." Vergil raised his eyes to the skies. "With the way the rod is glowing brightly, I fear an army of glitched creatures might be on their way!"

Benign looked up to the darkened skies as sickeningly familiar birds soared. They let out disturbing screeches that filled the air above them. Another hostile attack. An aerial attack. ’I can’t even earn a break.’

He reached for his gun at his waist and felt the bandage wrapped freshly that morning. He couldn’t overexert himself, or the wounds would tear open. His regeneration barely caught up.

Cawww! Cawww!

Raising his head again, Benign squinted his eyes and widened them the next second. ’Them?’

The worst fears of Creature Icarus. Birds that had defended their warriors with their last breath.

Weren’t those birds buried with Hell Rain?!